US comparative psychologist and pioneering primatologist at Penn State; considered by many to be the founder of modern field primatology. Carpenter made early (1930s-1940s) observations of free-ranging howler, gibbon, and macaque populations in their natural habitats that are now considered classic field studies. He was a co-director of the Asiatic Primate Expedition of 1937. He made arrangements while on this trip to import 500 rhesus macaques from India to the Cayo Santiago Island Rhesus Colony in Puerto Rico. He later became a pioneer in instructional television and played a key role in the passage of the National Education Act (Title VII) that prohibits discrimination. He was President of the Association for Higher Education, 1965-6. He retired in 1970, but remained active until his death.